仪A free download from http://www.dertz.in ----dertz ebooks publisher !----
Blindfolded
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Blindfolded, by Earle Ashley Walcott Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook.
This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the header without written permission.
Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is important information about your specific rights and restrictions in how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved.
**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971**
*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!*****
Title: Blindfolded
Author: Earle Ashley Walcott
Release Date: March, 2005 [EBook #7788] [This file was first posted on May 17, 2003]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO Latin-1
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, BLINDFOLDED ***
Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, Joshua Hutchinson, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
BLINDFOLDED
By
EARLE ASHLEY WALCOTT
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I
A DANGEROUS ERRAND II A CRY FOR HELP III A QUESTION IN THE NIGHT IV A CHANGE OF NAME V DODDRIDGE KNAPP VI A NIGHT AT BORTON'S VII MOTHER BORTON VIII IN WHICH I MEET A FEW SURPRISES IX A DAY IN THE MARKET X A TANGLE OF SCHEMES XI THE DEN OF THE WOLF XII LUELLA KNAPP XIII A DAY OF GRACE XIV MOTHER BORTON'S ADVICE XV I AM IN THE TOILS XVI AN ECHO OF WARNING XVII IN A FOREIGN LAND XVIII THE BATTLE IN THE MAZE XIX A DEAL IN STOCKS XX MAKING PROGRESS XXI AT THE BIDDING OF THE UNKNOWN XXII TRAILED XXIII A PIECE OF STRATEGY XXIV ON THE ROAD XXV A FLUTTER IN THE MARKET XXVI A VISION OF THE NIGHT XXVII A LINK IN THE CHAIN XXVIII THE CHASE IN THE STORM XXIX THE HEART OF THE MYSTERY XXX THE END OF THE JOURNEY XXXI THE REWARD
BLINDFOLDED
CHAPTER I
A DANGEROUS ERRAND
A city of hills with a fringe of houses crowning the lower heights; half-mountains rising bare in the background and becoming real mountains as they stretched away in the distance to right and left; a confused mass of buildings coming to the water's edge on the flat; a forest of masts, ships swinging in the stream, and the streaked, yellow, gray-green water of the bay taking a cold light from the setting sun as it struggled through the wisps of fog that fluttered above the serrated sky-line of the city--these were my first impressions of San Francisco.
The wind blew fresh and chill from the west with the damp and salt of the Pacific heavy upon it, as I breasted it from the forward deck of the ferry steamer, El Capitan. As I drank in the air and was silent with admiration of the beautiful panorama that was spread before me, my companion touched me on the arm.
"Come into the cabin," he said. "You'll be one of those fellows who can't come to San Francisco without catching his death of cold, and then lays it on to the climate instead of his own lack of common sense. Come, I can't spare you, now I've got you here at last. I wouldn't lose you for a million dollars."
"I'll come for half the money," I returned, as he took me by the arm and led me into the close cabin.
My companion, I should explain, was Henry Wilton, the son of my father's cousin, who had the advantages of a few years of residence in California, and sported all the airs of a pioneer. We had been close friends through boyhood and youth, and it was on his offer of employment that I had come to the city by the Golden Gate.
"What a resemblance!" I heard a woman exclaim, as we entered the cabin. "They must be twins."
"There, Henry," I whispered, with a laugh; "you see we are discovered." Though our relationship was not close we had been cast in the mold of some common ancestor. We were so nearly alike in form and feature as to perplex all but our intimate acquaintances, and we had made the resemblance the occasion of many tricks in our boyhood days.
Henry had heard the exclamation as well as I. To my surprise, it appeared to bring him annoyance or apprehension rather than amusement.
"I had forgotten that it would make us conspicuous," he said, more to himself than to me, I thought; and he glanced through the cabin as though he looked for some peril.
"We were used to that long ago," I said, as we found a seat. "Is
![](qr/39755/1.png)
Continue reading on your phone by scaning this QR Code
Tip: The current page has been bookmarked automatically. If you wish to continue reading later, just open the
Dertz Homepage, and click on the 'continue reading' link at the bottom of the page.